Only the Beginning
by Iris P.G. Hanamone
Summary: Hermione is left hurt and confused after Ron's betrayal to Lavender, but bumping into Malfoy, things start to take an interesting turn... Starting with a bet.
1. Prologue

**This is my first Fanfiction, and I hope you enjoy it. It's a little bit (lot) rough in places, mainly because I just wanted to see how many people are actually interested in reading my Fanfiction. Hopefully, it shall get better as I go on!**

She ran with tearful eyes towards no where, her heart feeling like it had been ripped out of her chest and punched repeatedly. Nothing made sense in her mind, only the imprinted image of Ron kissing Lavender, arms wrapped around her narrow waist. She wanted only to backhand Ron in the head, knocking some sense into it for once. How could he have never realised that she liked him? What kind of insensitive jerk was he? Sobs broke from her chest as she made awful wailing sounds which would have embarrassed her thoroughly if she cared.

"God what is that disgusting sound for, _Mudblood_?" The last person she wanted to see on Earth while she was crying stood sneering at her from his great height. When did he even become that tall anyway?, she asked herself bitterly.

"Fuck off." She tried to make it sound as venomous as possible, but with a broken heart, teary eyes and snivelling quite badly, it only sounded pathetic, just like she was. She probably looked quite pathetic too, with her eyes red from crying and her uniform dishevelled. Though Lavender wasn't the best catch, she was obviously better than herself.

"Sorry, what was that?" He flashed her a fake-sweet smile as he said it. As sweet as a Malfoy could get, and quite frankly it didn't get much sweeter than a spoonful of salt in your mouth. She had no energy nor strength to pursue the argument, and she could feel herself on the verge of another breakdown. All she wanted to do was lie on her bed and cry to her pillow until morning.

"Shut up." All clever comebacks were drained from her mind, and she couldn't think of anything more than the smell of her pillow who she could pour all her feelings to through tears.

"What the hell's wrong with you, Granger?" He exclaimed in almost certainty that she was going to scream at him the moment he appeared, providing entertainment for him. "Did your B-F-F-L's leave you out? Or did they forget to give you a goodnight kiss?" _Ron... With Lavender... Kissing._

"_Did I not tell you to fucking fuck off Malfoy? Stupid, stupid rat face, you're the most insensitive, annoying, bastard of an ass I have ever seen!_" She screamed, prodding him in the chest as she labelled out her points, hot tears streaming down her face. He smirked: He'd obviously hit a nerve here didn't he?

"Did Potter not-"

"_Shut your fucking face!_" She shoved his shoulders as hard as she could. He could say that he was almost shocked at her behaviour, but masked his shock in a frown of annoyance. An awkward silence took place, and she stood snivelling and staring at her shoes as if she'd never quite seen anything so peculiar. She had the urge to smile stupidly at that moment and point at Malfoy, saying 'You actually shut up when I told you to'. But she knew better than to do that because, when Slytherins went quiet, it was for only one reason: _Plotting_. So she stood, awaiting her punishment, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. She saw out of her peripheral vision, him bending down to meet her ear, as her heart beat erratically fast in anticipation of the punishment.

"This is by no means over, Mudblood. In fact, this is only the start." He whispered chillingly into her ear, as she shied away from his touch. And with that, he stalked off, and she stood staring in absolute wonder, still dazed upon his words. A slow smile graced her lips.

"Can't wait." She murmured to herself, continuing a slow walk to her dormitory.

**Right, so this is completely rushed, but please remind yourselves that this is only the Prologue, and that I just want to see how many people are actually interested in this story.**


	2. Chapter One

**Thank you to all who reviewed, it's nice to know that some people out there are actually reading my story! If you want more, you'll have to keep reviewing, as I don't want to feel as though I'm doing this if no reason. I'm trying to make chapters longer. Readers - Check my profile for updates on my stories. I will tell you from there what is happening with the stories, what I'm putting on hold etc - It's vital you check it. Onto Chapter Two (:**

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Hermione awoke on Friday morning to bright sunlight streaming through the windows, feeling little butterflies in her stomach from excitement. Today was the first day of Malfoy's punishment. For some strange reason she couldn't wait until she saw what lame excuse of a punishment he had in store for her. She was the brightest witch of her year, and she was feeling rather confident that if she could have overcome everything she had been through so far, she would definitely be able to overcome what feeble punishment he was to give her. But a small part of her brain told her that he was, after all, an alleged Death Eater. Of course he was going to have some ruthless methods for her shouting, swearing and _even shoving him_. Although, she thought reassuringly, he is an _alleged_ Death Eater, meaning maybe he wasn't. And with that thought lingering on her mind, she got up to have a shower, humming a quiet tune.

After her shower and some profound thinking time, she suddenly found herself a little nervous to go down to breakfast. Ron and Lavender would be there, holding hands and doing _stuff_. She shuddered slightly and lead herself out the door heading down to breakfast.

"Hermione!" Harry called her over to the table, and on hearing her name she grinned and made her way forth. She didn't miss the sympathetic look in his eyes, though he smiled back at her. "How are you?" She sighed, knowing the real underlying question.

"I'm _fine, _Harry."

"You're not still upset about..." He trailed off, the name suggestive. He was concerned about her, but it annoyed her that he was beating around the bush. She was perfectly capable of handling this situation, not that she had had much experience, but Merlin! She wasn't made of porcelain, she wasn't like that girl from that muggle book, who would cry or _flinch_ every time someone said her ex-lover's name because he _left her_. Harry could see the blatant anger building in her eyes, so he turned away and moved his food around on his plate a bit, when he head her sigh again, and he knew it was safe to look back again.

"Harry, I can _handle_ you saying his _name_. I can say it, see, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ron, Ro-"

"Yeah?" Ron asked. He watched her blush to the roots of her hair and he frowned in confusion. "You said my name?" Get a hold of yourself, Hermione!, she thought to herself, just lie. Make something up.

"Erm, well-"

"_Ron!_" Lavender almost screamed, and flung herself at him, almost bringing him to the floor. "I missed you _so much_! Did you miss me too, did you, did you?" Hermione frowned and stared at her plate. She knew she should have been grateful for the interruption, but somehow, because it was _Lavender_, she felt very bitter about it. Throwing a dirty look their way, she almost threw up when she saw they were _snogging_ in front of her in the Great Hall. That was her only time when she would be 'alone' with him, because from now until the end of the day, they would be together. Better get used to it then, she thought to herself. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as they started to get food and spoonfeed each other, biting hard into a piece of bread.

"Go." Harry whispered to her, his eyes understanding. She smiled, mouthing thank you, and left.

* * *

Draco had watched her the second she had come in through the doors, waiting patiently for her arrival. He couldn't wait until he had her alone to start the punishment. He'd thought this through, planning, scheming all of last night. She was going to be his slave, bringing him anything that he needed, completing all his homework for him. He smirked at the thought - She would be exhausted: The punishment would be 'light' but in the long-term (he was planning this to go on for at least two months, maybe more if she was fun to toy with) it would slowly become torture. Finally he saw that ugly bushy hair of hers walk through the doors, and his smirk grew impossibly larger. Now she was in place, he needed to wait until she finished breakfast.

He scrutinised her appearance as she walked towards Potter.

Granger was a decent girl, who would never roll her skirt up so that half her thigh would be seen, never have a button out of place. In summer when the weather was warmer, when the girls were permitted to wearing ankle length socks, she made extra sure that her skirt was never more than an inch above her knee. On weekends when students were allowed to wear their own clothes, she never cared much for what she wore, only caring if something was too tight for her liking. Nor did she care much about her hair, where most girls made sure their hair was poker straight which took hours to perfect, she kept hers _au naturel_, only really caring to whether it was greasy or not. She didn't want people to notice her for her body: If anything, she wanted people to notice her for her brain. And because she was so different, people kept noticing _her_ rather than all the 'normal' girls with their skirts hiked up as belts. If she knew she was being watched by the opposite sex, she hadn't really acknowledged them, nor shown any interest. He would not admit this to anyone, but he'd been intrigued by her.

"_Ron!_" A screechy voice interrupted his thoughts, and he had the urge to cover his ears. He watched in distaste as he watched a girl with bouncy curly hair run towards Weasel. Her name was Rose, or some kind of flower thing, and he'd heard from Pansy's daily gossiping sessions which he was forced to listen to every lunch time, that this 'Rose' was a complete slut, and she'd got around Gryffindor quite a bit. He sneered. Gryffindor boys had quite low standards, then. He continued watching the scene before him, half because it was the Golden Trio, the other half for Granger waiting for her to finish her breakfast. Suddenly, he saw Granger give someone a dark look. Secretly, he knew if it were him, he would have been a tiny bit intimidated. But it wasn't, so he wasn't intimidated. It was to that new lovey-dovey couple who were now... Snogging. More like eating each other's faces. A look of disgust passed her face as she ate a piece of bread, that Potter boy giving her a look of sympathy telling her to go if need be - And she did. His cue to follow, he thought gleefully.

* * *

She felt sick from looking at Ron and _Lav Lav_ snogging as if their lives depended on it.

Gods, why was he so _stupid_! How could he be that insensitive, how could he not have seen the millions of black looks she sent their way this breakfast? Oh wait, she knew why. Because they were both too busy spoonfeeding each other. She laughed darkly to herself, fakest of the fake laughs.

"Mudblood, why are you _laughing_?" _His_ voice sounded from behind her, entirely not amused at the sound of her _laughing_. Even if it was a dark laugh. She turned around, sighing heavily. She knew she was being followed, she'd noticed it since she'd come in through the dining hall.

"Why are you following me?" She retorted, crossing her arms. It was his turn to laugh.

"Why, Granger, you couldn't possibly have forgotten _yesterday already_, could you?" He smirked. "You never did tell me exactly why you ran off crying after Gryffindors won."

"Why do you care?" She asked, sighing again. She seemed to be doing an awful lot of that.

"I don't. It's just another reason for me to make fun of you." He hesitated. He did actually want to know why she was crying, though he had a pretty good idea. "Was it _Weasley_?" She flinched. Goddammit! She was _not_ becoming like the girl from the muggle book. Come on, Hermione, you're stronger than that... Though she knew she'd already given the game away, she thought to herself, frowning. "Ah, so it was Weasley. Was it because of his new _girlfriend_? Or was it because he's completely ignoring you now he has that ugly slutty thing hanging around him all the time?" He asked, smirking, at the same time disgusted at his choice in girlfriends. Hermione's mouth gaped open for a second before giggling.

"Oh... oh! You... you... Lavender...!" She burst into laughter again. She calmed down a bit, a small grin on her face still. Draco was utterly surprised. Did he just make her... Laugh? He shuddered. He wasn't here to make jokes, but to hand out her punishment. He smirked again at the thought of her punishment. Her grin suddenly disappeared as she looked behind his shoulder, and he followed her gaze. It was Weasley and that slut on his arm, as they were laughing together. What amused him most was the Mudblood's face. Pain actually slashed though her features, and her eyes became teary, but flashed with anger. Weasley could actually break this girl's heart without knowing it, making her flinch at his name, and tears to spring into her eyes at any moment - Yet she would not be fazed by any hex or threat that came from him. This was the reaction he wanted when someone told her Malfoy was coming after her. Well, perhaps a little more fear.

"Why are you_ crying_, Mudblood?" He sneered, as she blinked hard a few times watching her swallow.

"Like you don't know, _Ferret_."

"Fine, I admit I do know. What I don't understand is how you can become so het up about _him_." He stated, buffing his nails as if they were talking about the weather.

"Of course you wouldn't_ know_, Malfoy. You wouldn't_ understand_. You bed at least _three girls_ in one week, or so I've heard. So you don't know the_ feeling_ of being hurt. You're the one who hurts others, breaks the girl's heart." She said bitterly, in annoyance.

"That's because I have to break of the relationship. They just get... Very attatched to me and so they get hurt more." He said curtly, folding his arms.

"Very attached to you... Oh you wouldn't understand a girl's mind, Malfoy. You show affections, she falls for you, you use her. The ones that you pick are the easy ones." She said, disgusted. She was completely sure he did not have any feelings deeper than hate, jealousy and lust.

"They are not _easy_ Granger! So what if I show affections, it's because... Because I like her!" He almost shouted, angry at this woman, this dirty mudblood who dared tell him what he was.

"I bet you couldn't stay with _one_ girl for one month." She smirked - _smirked_ - at him as if he couldn't do it.

"I can too stay with a girl for one month. I can do it for _two_ months!" He exclaimed indignantly. If anything, her smirk grew bigger.

"Whatever, Malfoy." She said, surpressing a giggle, starting to walk off.

"Fine! Fine! Here's your punishment! I bet you couldn't stay with me for more than one month without falling for me. Since you think that the girls I bed are _easy_." He called after her, and she turned around a grin on her face.

"Let's change it up a bit. First one to fall for the other loses." She said, predatory smile to her lips. He nodded.

"Deal," He smirked back, going onto gloat. "I'll tell you now, I will not be the first to lose. You're going to fall hard and fast for me."

"We'll see, Malfoy. We'll see." She smiled again, turning around and walking away.

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**Right so here we are with longer chapters. I think you'll have to approximately wait four to five days until the next update, as I'm busy for the next few days with going out etc. I think I know what I'm doing, because right now I'm just going with the flow: I don't really like what I've written, but I know for a fact I get bored of a story if they don't update for a while. I'm probably going to edit chapters as I go along, and then repost the whole story once I'm done.**

**I can't ask you enough to review, it means so much to me, and makes me feel as though I'm posting this for a reason. Thanks again to all reviewers last time, and people who read.**

**I also have an urgent announcement. Those of you who are reading this story, it is vital that you check my profile for updates on this story, whether I'm going to be putting it on hold or not.  
**

**~thislovewillbeyourdownfall  
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	3. Chapter Two

**Hihi! This is your chapter two I promised (:**

**Thank you so much to all reviewers! Especially to whispersasweknowit who reviewed so thoroughly, I am really amazed - Thank you again.**

**Onto Chapter Two then?  
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Draco stood for a few moments staring that the hot-headed witch who'd just challenged him to a bet, dazed. What the hell just happened? His plan had just literally slipped away from his mind and he had _improvised_ a bet with the Mudblood. The bet was good though. If - _when_ she fell for him, he would humilitate her, make her cry like Weasley did. He laughed to himself, stuffing his hands in his pockets, sauntering back to him friends.

"Draco!" Pansy shouted, almost desperately, and he rolled his eyes turning around and smirking at her. "Where were you?" She grabbed onto his arm, wrapping both of hers around his, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Beating up some first year." He said, smirking as if he were proud. There was no way he was going to tell _Pansy_ that he was even talking to that Mudblood - let alone tell her that he'd just made a bet with her. She cooed at him, smiling as if _she _was proud of him beating someone up.

"Wow, you're so strong, Draco." She said, ridiculously in awe at him. He slyly pulled his arm out of her grasp, while flashing a gorgeous smile at her. She knew better than to keep grabbing on, so she settled for walking closely next to him, a little dazed - He was so beautiful and he was all hers, she smiled happily to herself. And she had no intention of letting go of him anytime soon.

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It was a pretty day outside, leaves glittering in the sun as the wind raked though them, white clouds floating and gliding through the sky with ease. Though it was sunny, the cool Scottish countryside was typically deceptive, as it was chilly breeze that greeted Hermione and she brought her knit scarf closer to her neck, cheeks blushed with the cold temperature. She made her way to the Black Lake, where she could stare out into the inky blackness and miserably joke that it was as clear as her relationship with Ron.

It was only when she was alone when she would allow herself to shed a couple of tears, because although deep in her heart she knew he wasn't worth it at all, she couldn't help but cry a little for the one she loved. She had lost, simple as that. She had lost to Lavender. If she couldn't become his girlfriend as she had originally wished for, she would be his friend as if nothing had happened. Because, well... Nothing _had_ happened. She would _refuse_ to feel down in the dumps anymore for him, who obviously didn't deserve her tears if he didn't even realise how much he'd hurt her. Drying the remainder of her tears, she snuggled into her scarf for more warmth.

"'Mione! I knew I'd find you here!" Harry's cheeks were blushed, lips brightly red in the cold, his dark hair tousled in the wind, slightly out of breath. She smiled: He'd run around trying to find her. "Are you okay?" He asked, cautiously.

"Fine, Harry, fine. Come, let's go back." They walked back together, laughing and talking amiably between themselves, holding hands in a friendly manner. Just before reaching the castle, Harry pulled Hermione into hug, all humor evaporating as the laughter died on her lips. "... Harry?"

"I'm sorry, for what happened between you and Ron. But..." He drew away from the hug, watching her carefully. "You still want to be friends right?"

"Of course I still want to be friends with him, don't be so silly!" She laughed, a little too loudly for it to be true, whacking his arm. He winced internally, rubbing his arm a bit. He knew she had been hurt, but he definitely didn't want the tiff to come between them.

"Good, because I like how it is when we're together." He smiled, speaking truthfully. She returned the favour - Maybe it was good that she had decided to put the ordeal behind them: They could now go back to the way they were before.

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Hermione had never been more wrong in her life. A frightening peal of laughter, yet again from _dear_ Lavender, made her jump.

"Oh Ron, you are _so funny_. So funny!" She burst into hysteria again, wiping the corners of her eyes. Everything was great until she'd shown up, but she should've known that sooner or later Ronald would invite his girlfriend to sit with them while they talked. Now everytime Harry tried to include Ron into the conversation, Lavender would distract him with another memory from their short time together. Honestly, how could this girl think up of so many memories when the only thing they did together was _snog_? She couldn't take anymore of this.

"I'm going." She said a little tersely for a 'friendly' conversation. Well how was she _meant _to react? She stood up, brushing and adjusting her skirt length, and making her way to her room. Ron's head snapped up as Lavender stroked his hair.

"You're going already?" He asked, as if he were surprised. She nodded.

"I'll see you all in Herbology, okay? I have to finish some Divination homework." She smiled a little, making up for her abrupt departure. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she made her way up to her room, and laid down on her bed with a huff. After a few moments of relaxing silence, she decided to take her mind off of things by reading, and so she opened her ear marked page of _Pride and Prejudice_, then slammed it shut when she remembered it was a romance novel. She sighed and diverted her gaze to the window, watching those who walked by. Malfoy and his gang skulked past, him in front, Pansy close behind, Crabbe and Goyle walking in a pair last. _Shoot Malfoy!_ She'd been so caught up with Ron that she'd completely forgotten her bet with Malfoy. She could bet anything that he was planning his every move, so that he had a head start - She on the other hand, hadn't thought of anything at all.

Perching on the edge of her bed, head in her hands, she ran though ideas she could use.

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Harry sighed heavily as he watched Hermione walk briskly to her room. The unmistakable hurt that passed through her eyes made his heart tug a little. And yet Ron had noticed nothing - He was still making jokes to his girlfriend. He could hardly blame Hermione for speaking so sharply to them: Even he was getting annoyed with the two in front of him, but what could he do?

"Hey!" Ginny smiled as she came through the portrait, pulling off her scarf as she reached them. "Where's Hermione?" Her eyes hardened as she took in Lavender sitting next to Ron, his hand in both of hers on her lap. "Oh." The word held volumes, and she turned to Harry. "I'm guessing she's in her room." Harry nodded nervously: The dislike and disapprovement of Lavender was as clear as day. "See you later, Harry. Ron." She waved herself off, only acknowledging Lavender with a deathly glare before running off to Hermione. "Mione?" She called as she entered the room, Hermione looking up at Ginny in surprise from her head in her hands.

"Hi Gin," She replied, smiling a little as she patted a space next to her on her bed. "Come sit with me. How are you?" Ginny laughed a little, sitting down comfortably next to Hermione.

"Shouldn't I be asking you how _you_ are?" Ginny asked. "I saw _Lavender _down there with my brother... Isn't that why you're up here?" Hermione sighed.

"I suppose, yeah, but it doesn't bother me... It was just that we were trying to have a conversation and she was just... distracting him all the time." She told her, a slightly pissed off at Lavender's behaviour. "I just want things to go back to the way they used to be." Ginny nodded in agreement, frowning a bit.

"I understand... But just now you seemed... Distressed..." Ginny looked at Hermione, who started to gnaw on her bottom lip, a frown marring her features, and she knew that she was contemplating on telling her the truth. "Mione, you know you can tell me anything... I promise I won't get mad..." She said gently, her hand on her knee.

"I-er... well..." Hermione started, worrying her bottom lip. How could she tell Ginny that she'd willingly made a bet with Malfoy? A bet which was the first one to _fall_ for the other lost. But she desperately needed ideas, she _refused_ to lose. "I made a bet with Malfoy..." She paused, watching her friend, who raised her eyebrows but said nothing. "It wasn't really a planned bet... It kind of just... Happened. We had an argument the day before and you know, I'd just seen Ron and Lavender... So I shouted at him because I was really upset... It kind of went silent, but then he told me that 'it was not over'. So the next day we were arguing again... Then I saw Ron and Lavender again, laughing and joking, and I don't know, it just hit me... And then he was being _Malfoy_, rude and all, and then as I turned away, after another argument, he proposed a bet. Which I agreed to." Ginny frowned, taking in all the information, Hermione looking desperately to her friend for her to understand.

"So what exactly is the bet then?" Ginny asked, meeting Hermione's worried gaze.

"Erm... He bet me that I couldn't stay with him for one month without falling for him. So I changed it up so that it was the first one of us who fell for one another, would lose," She put her head into her hands and groaned. "And I don't know what to do!" Ginny patted her back.

"No idea? Isn't it obvious what you need to do?" Ginny grinned a mischievious smile as Hermione shook her head dejectedly. "You're incredibly lucky you have me, Hermione." She winked at her.

"What is it I have to do?" She asked cautiously, not liking the expression on her face.

"You have to bribe him." She said, looking knowingly, smiling.

"Bribe him? With... My homework?" She asked innocently, as Ginny struggled not to laugh at her confused expression.

"Bribe him... As in _seduce_ him."

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**Done! This took me a long time to do, and I think in some places it's not very well written, but you can be the judge of that. I have yet another important announcement for all of you, and I'm starting to think you may be getting quite sick of my announcements, but this is seriously important:**

**I'm going on holiday to France this Saturday for two weeks, so expect me not to be writing as much: I may write a bit because I am taking my laptop with me, but no promises!**

**This is mainly the reason I tried to get this chapter out to you in time, so please forgive me if I don't update!**

**I can't ask you enough to review!  
**

**~thislovewillbeyourdownfall**


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